


Robin Wishes

by LilaRobin



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexual Steve Harrington, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, F/F, F/M, Gen, Good Babysitter Steve Harrington, Hospitalization, Lesbian Robin Buckley, M/M, Moving In Together, Multi, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-11 21:36:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20160469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilaRobin/pseuds/LilaRobin
Summary: Robin wishes she noticed the signs earlierNow she's sitting by Steve Harrington's hospital bed.





	Robin Wishes

Robin, after knowing Steve for a year now, is concerned. At first, she thought it was in her head. They’re 19, for god’s sake. She first noticed it when they were applying for jobs. She was mainly focused on how Steve’s movie taste was horrendous, but then she looked back on it. Keith asked Steve to look at him. Steve did for a split second before drifting his eyes away as casually as he could.

Robin was smart. She picked up on things. She always thought it’d be a good thing, but now she wishes she didn’t. Or maybe she wishes she realized it sooner.

It was in November when a man came in all annoyed. He started yelling about how it wasn’t his fault that the movie was overdue. She, again, thought it was a fluke how Steve’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the counter and kept his gaze low. “It’s Steve Harrington,” she remembered telling herself 5 minutes later, just to then see Steve knock over a box on a shelf, rushing to pick it up with a nervous glance and laugh directed towards her.

In the following January, a few months ago, a woman came in. She asked for a Romance-Comedy. Steve pointed her into the right part of the store. She nodded and left to go find one. 

Robin wishes she knew what the problem was. She wished she checked on him sooner.

Keith came in a couple of minutes later, “Harrington, what’s the hold-up?”

“She’s picking out a movie,” Steve gestures to the woman, his eyes down and off to the side.

“Useless,” Keith muttered as he went away. Steve’s shoulders were tense for the rest of their shift.

Robin wishes she asked about his home life. It didn’t seem necessary. They got tortured by evil Russians together and all of that shit, so just going with the flow felt nice.

She thought back to May, last month to be exact. It was a bright day. She was in the back, picking out a movie for their horror night when the store got a phone call. Steve answered it, ushering her away with a small, shy smile. She shrugged at the time. Apparently, it was his parents, and they wanted him at home. The shift was almost up, so she just covered for him.

She wishes she noticed it sooner.

Instead, she’s looking across a white bed, her nose breathing in chemicals making it twitch and itch. Dustin is next to her, red-eyed. On the bed is a battered Steve Harrington.

Joshua Harrington, the man of the family, shot his wife and son during a fight. The mother was only hit in the arm, already out of the hospital. She told the full story. Robin read the statement later on, Hopper sitting beside her just in case it’s too much. Robin felt bad that day in the precinct. Hopper was putting Joshua Harrington in jail, and then received the statement from Annabelle Harrington two days later. 

She sat there, skimming the pages. To sum it up, every time they got back from a trip Steve would be beaten, especially if the meetings didn’t go into Joshua Harrington’s favor. Apparently, Steve was always the punching bag. He was told about rules and discipline. How not to be weak and not to cry. 

Robin wished she caught on sooner. She let out a small waiver of a gasp as she read that they started leaving Steve home alone at the age of 9. By the time he was in high school they stopped by once a month. It was perfect since the others would just assume he got in a fight.

Robin wished she was there for her Batman. She wished that she knew what was happening.

She remembered leaving the precinct like a wandering spirit. She remembered going home and plopping down on her bed as if nothing mattered.

Robin sat next to a red-eyed Dustin, wishing she could have stopped it.

Dustin sat next to a red-eyed Robin, wishing he found his body sooner. They, being the Party, were going to go to the arcade. El, Max, and Will were getting a ride from Billy, while he, Lucas, and Mike were going to ask for a ride from Steve. All the couples were separated.

Dustin remembered knocking on the door to hear a woman weeping. Lucas was the one to kick the door in, bikes forgotten on the pavement. The three of them stormed in to see blood and broken glass everywhere. 

A woman who they’ve never seen before was clutching her arm in pain, blood seeping into the washcloth she had around it. Mike looked frantic, asking what was wrong. The woman just mumbled something about Josh and Steven. 

Dustin remembered looking around in a slurring motion, wondering where Steve was. He followed a blood smear on the floor, finding an unconscious body. He yelled for Lucas, who saw Steve too. They rushed to find a phone. Once they did, it all felt like a nightmare.

Steve was their protector. Steve was their big brother of sorts. Their Mr. Mom. Their babysitter. 

Yet here he was, bloodied in his own home.

Dustin remembered thinking it was odd that Steve could fight Russians but not people his age. He thought it was because of his experience, but then he thought about the fight with the Russian. He then remembered that in the fight, that they weren’t looking into one another’s eyes. It was a throw here and there. He saw Billy and Steve fight, and Billy made sure that they could see each other. He couldn’t speak for Jonathan, but Dustin assumed it might have been the same.

Eye-contact. It was probably a scary thing to hold.

Robin and Dustin came in every day. It was summer, so it was okay. Keith seemed a little lenient with hours when it came to Robin anyway. Dustin was just enjoying summer, waiting for sophomore year. But now he was waiting for Steve to wake up.

Billy came in a few minutes later with Max. None of them talked much. When they did talk it was about what good and funny memories they shared with Steve. 

Max on June 19, 1986, said, “Both his parents are in jail now.” It was odd.

“Why?” Dustin asked. “I thought his mom was good.”

“Child Neglect,” Billy answered.

“Meanwhile his father was charged with attempted murder and physical abuse,” Robin said.

“Where does that leave Steve?” Dustin asked. “When he wakes up and gets out of the hospital?”

“He’s 19,” Robin said, “he can make his own decisions now.”

“Where will he live?”

“I think his lawyer is making a good case to where Steve ends up with a lot of the money and properties his parents own,” Billy said.

“That’s good,” Max said.

“What do you think his favorite flower is?” Dustin asked.

“Something frail and pretty,” Billy hummed.

“Maybe a rose,” Max mused. “With lots of thorns.”

“I was thinking a lily,” Robin said.

“Not pansies?” Dustin asked.

“Pansies aren’t half bad.”

“Daisy’s are better,” Billy scoffed.

“I prefer daffodils, thank you very much,” Steve’s voice croaked, shocking the room.

Dustin sprinted out of his seat, “Steve!”

“Hey.”

“You’re awake.”

“I sure hope so.”

“I’ll get the nurse.”

“You do that.”

-

Robin helped Steve make it up the stairs to his new apartment. Well, their new apartment. Newly rented and everything. The elevator was out of order, so they had to go up the hard way. When they finally made it to the apartment, Steve was thanking her for helping him.

They sat down on a couch they got at Good Will. They shared a bed that popped out of the wall next to the bathroom. A tiny kitchen was in the right corner, and a t.v. was by the door. Robin got out a small bottle of sparkling cider, celebrating Steve’s release from the hospital.

“Cheers to no more green Jello,” Steve said.

“Cheers to you being alive,” Robin huffed out.

After a few moments of laughing about the good times, Steve said, “This reminds me of when Billy recovered. Didn’t we throw a little party at the Byers?”

“Yeah. In October, I think. Max was peppy the rest of the week. Remember that song Dustin and Suzie sang? Never Ending Story?”

“It was adorable,” Steve drawled out with a smile.

“We didn’t stop pestering him about it the rest of the year,” Robin hummed in amusement.

“Hey, Robin,” Steve said, “how did you know you like girls?”

“Well, uhm, I had dreams. At first, I was in shock and denial, but then I accepted it. I guess I just thought some girls were pretty, while others I wanted to kiss, and by kiss, I mean smother one another with our mouths-”

“Yeah, okay, got it,” Steve smashed his eyelids together, blocking out the image. Robin cackled, enjoying his pain. “But how did you, like, how do you know if you-”

“Steve,” Robin stopped him, “What are you getting at?”

“It’s just, uh, guys are really hot.”

“Oh. My. God,” Robin squealed. “When did you start thinking that?”

“I dunno, a year or two ago?”

“Do you still like girls, or-”

“I like girls, sorta. I got my eye on one guy though. He’s been taking up my full attention for a while.”

“Billy?”

“How did you know?!”

“Oh, Stevie, there is some sort of tension between the two of you, it’s insane. When Josh was on the run, Billy threatened to drive around for him.”

“So I have a chance?” Steve asked.

“You sure do,” Robin nodded. “Just ease into it. Build up your flirting skills.”

“I don’t have flirting skills.”

“Reason why we’re going to build it up. If it works on a stranger, you have a fighting chance of it working on Billy.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

“You shouldn’t,” Robin murmured.

Steve laughed, coughing a little in the middle of his wheeze. Robin would be concerned, but she was laughing a little too hard too.


End file.
